How long/short do you like your cafe racer for casual wear?

[Will Zach]

I like them on the shorter side. In fact, I just thought that it may be a cool look when your whole belt buckle is showing. Is that too short to pull off? Do Loungers have cafe racers with various lengths to suit the occasion?

 

[zebedee]

Belt showing is too short for me. I want the length to be around 26" - in this way, I do not feel like a cartoon character concealing sudden nakedness by cramming a cardboard box on.

On other people, though, the short length works.

 

[Peacoat]

I like for my jackets to cover the belt. I don't wear a CR casually, only for riding. I have a Schott CR that has shrunken enough so that my belt buckle is exposed. I feel like I'm wearing my little brothers jacket.

 

[ton312]

For me, regardless of the style of jacket, or it’s purpose, if my belt shows...to eBay it goes.

 

[El Marro]

I’m with Ton here. I have seen other people wearing short café racers that looked awesome. I need mine to cover the belt though, or else it just doesn’t feel right.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Must cover my belt regardless of jacket style. Never seen one above the belt that looked cool to me.

 

[navetsea]

I prefer my leather jacket to cover the belt, if the jacket is short to expose your buckle then every now and then the bottom front of the jacket will get stuck above the buckle and either jabbing into your stomach or creating a paunch when you sit especially with vertical center zip.

I wear my denim jacket short enough to expose the belt, but I never button the lowest button on denim jacket so it is flexible can flare out when I sit, so it depends, if you plan to almost never zip up the jacket or if the jacket have dual zip, and you like the look of short tight fit jacket then it might work just like denim jacket, but if the zipper box is right at the hem line and the jacket is short, big chance it will get annoying

 

[Seb Lucas]

Over tbe belt. To me it looks bad if worn shorter.

 

[ProteinNerd]

yep, just covering the belt is as short as I feel comfortable, tbh I prefer at least an inch or two past the belt.

 

[Carlos840]

Here are my three cafe racers with three different lengths:

Langlitz cascade 24" back, barely covers the belt.

Alexander Leathers Cafe racer 26.5 back, finishes a little below my belt.

DD J-100 27" back, finishes an inches below my belt.

Although i wear all three jackets, the AL is my favourite length.
The langlitz is definitely on the shorter side, and i wish it was 1" longer but like you i kinda like the belt buckle showing look.
The DD is IMO "correct" length wise for that style, the bottom of the zipper finishing at the bottom of my belt, but i find the back is slightly annoying as it catches my back pockets and my wallet. I would prefer it if the back was 0.5" shorter.

 

[Bfd70]

Best case scenario it covers most of the top button of mid rise jeans.

 

[dubpynchon]

I prefer my jackets to half cover the belt, I have quite a long torso so if my jackets fully covered the belt they would look too long. Some of those Japanese guys model jackets which come to the top of their belt and still look cool, it helps I suppose having a completely flat belly.

 

[nick123]

The only jackets that look okay not fully covering the belts are cross-zips and the A-2. Maybe the Highwayman or some vintage pieces. In some cases cross-zip/lancer styles look even cooler that way. Wearing comfortably and confidently that way is a whole other matter.

 

[Edward]

I like my leathers to come over my belt and the very hem to just nuzzel the very top end edge of a jeans pocket. That said, I only wear jeans that come to my natural waist, none of this absurd "low rise" or "medium rise" nonsense for me!

 

[Monitor]

Vintage or vintage styled CR's are all relatively long-ish jackets. If you're going for the Brooks kinda deal, I'm not sure you will find one that won't cover your belt.

 

[Will Zach]

I was kinda kicking that thought around. I may be ordering a new CR from the new Hercules outfit and if I ordered a length of 23" it would be just above my belt. But I don't want to screw it up.. . So I will probably play conservative and order 25". I don't think I could pull off the belt showing anyway. It looks cool, but probably age-inappropriate for me. Thank you all responders, particularly Carlos840, for very useful information.

 

[Corsair42]

I prefer the jacket to sit on the belt, definitely not below, however that leaves the back a little short and draughty when riding if its a straight rear hem, I tend to go jackets with a rear 'drop', shirttail hem and on a recent bespoke riding jacket I had a drop added and both front and bsck are perfect. Some of the makers, particularly the Japanese brands have jackets where the sizing looks great on Instagram but in reality would be incredibly impractical for daily wear with hems way above the belt and sleeves sitting above the wrist, it makes for a cool picture but bending over or raising your arms when driving or riding would be awkward as hell. Some of these jackets are on models with the chest and biceps of a 13 year old kid.

 

[Edward]

Vintage or vintage styled CR's are all relatively long-ish jackets. If you're going for the Brooks kinda deal, I'm not sure you will find one that won't cover your belt.

Good point. My understanding has long been that the cafe racer jacket as we know it evolved as a jacket designed to ape the top half of an early, one-piece leather racing suit (not generally a practical option for the average biker, bearing in mind especially we're talking about an era in which the motorcycle was more working man's daily transport than rich man's plaything). That being so, the jacket wouyld benefit from a little extra length so that it didn't ride up over the back and let the cold air in when the rider is crouched over the tank, in a racing position.

 

[Edward]

I was kinda kicking that thought around. I may be ordering a new CR from the new Hercules outfit and if I ordered a length of 23" it would be just above my belt. But I don't want to screw it up.. . So I will probably play conservative and order 25". I don't think I could pull off the belt showing anyway. It looks cool, but probably age-inappropriate for me. Thank you all responders, particularly Carlos840, for very useful information.

23" does sound desperately short. FWIW, I'm only 5'10" myself, and my 25" back Schott 618 is as short as I could go without it looking very wrong.

I prefer the jacket to sit on the belt, definitely not below, however that leaves the back a little short and draughty when riding if its a straight rear hem, I tend to go jackets with a rear 'drop', shirttail hem and on a recent bespoke riding jacket I had a drop added and both front and bsck are perfect. Some of the makers, particularly the Japanese brands have jackets where the sizing looks great on Instagram but in reality would be incredibly impractical for daily wear with hems way above the belt and sleeves sitting above the wrist, it makes for a cool picture but bending over or raising your arms when driving or riding would be awkward as hell. Some of these jackets are on models with the chest and biceps of a 13 year old kid.

I think you also have to bear in mind a] that the average Japanese man's jacket size is a 38" chest, compared to 44/46" chest in Europe and the US, and b] how few vintage reproduction bike jackets will ever actually see the back of a motorcycle....

 

[jonbuilder]

how few vintage reproduction bike jackets will ever actually see the back of a motorcycle....[/QUOTE]
I am a small sample yet my vintage jackets are worn riding hard